HC Deb 13 May 1901 vol 93 cc1478-9
MR. THOMAS O'DONNELL

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that numbers of the Irish clergy and other Irishmen who conduct most of their correspondence in Irish are put to inconvenience owing to the inability of postmasters to read Irish superscriptions, and that the postmaster in Elphin refused to deliver a letter addressed in Irish, though he could have got persons to translate the address for him; and whether, considering that Irish is the national language, taught in nearly all the schools, spoken and written by a large part of the population, he will in future require that all entrants to the post office in Ireland, whether as postmasters or clerks, should have a good knowledge of the Irish language.

MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN

As stated in a previous answer, the Postmaster General is of opinion that there are very few, if any, persons who can write Irish and cannot write English; and if the Irish clergy and other Irishmen who address their letters in Irish have suffered inconvenience the remedy would appear to be in their own hands. There is no recollection at the Elphin post office of a letter addressed in Irish which was not delivered; and, seeing that one member of the staff can read Irish, there should not be any difficulty in disposing of a letter in that language, but if the hon. Member will give particulars further inquiry shall be made. In the circumstances the Postmaster General does not consider it necessary to take any special steps to insure that a knowledge of the Irish language shall be possessed by persons employed in the Post Office in Ireland.

MR. SWIFT MACNEILL

Does the Postmaster General himself know Irish?

SIR HOWARD VINCENT

Does the hon. Member understand it?

MR. THOMAS O'DONNELL

Then the right hon. Gentleman refuses facilities to those who consider it their duty to the locality to address letters in Irish?

MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN

There is someone in the Post Office who can read Irish.

MR. FLAVIN

Has the hon. Gentleman or the Postmaster General any practical experience of the language?